HomeMy WebLinkAbout03282019 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 28, 2019 Volume 40, Page 664
CALL TO ORDER
The March 28,2019 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 1:00
p.m. by Mayor David Squires.
OPENING CEREMONY
Citizen Lynda Paquette led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
David Squires presiding and
Sue McClure Suzanne Towsley
Jeremy Horn Sharyl Seese
Kelley Lane
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Norm Regis, Acting City Manager
Brenda Ballou, City Clerk
Excused—Osenga
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING —None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (McClure/Towsley) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion Passed Unanimous
There were no consent agenda items.
NEW BUSINESS
Interview Candidates for the Permanent City Manager Position
Council interviewed Scott Meszaros.
Council recessed at 2:45 p.m.
Council resumed at 2:56 p.m.
City ofSeward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 28, 2019 Volume 40, Page 665
Council interviewed Erin Reinders.
Schedule a special meeting to select the candidate,select a negotiating committee,and go into
executive session to discuss negotiating strategies for the city manager hire.
Council scheduled a special meeting on Monday, April 1, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
McClure thought council had just heard from two very talented and well-qualified
candidates. She encouraged the public to give council feedback and input on the candidates.
Towsley looked forward to hearing from the public on the candidates,and thought there were
two excellent candidates.
Horn wanted feedback from the public.
Seese also wanted feedback from the public.
Lane was excited about the process,and was grateful for the candidates.She,too,welcomed
feedback from the public.
Squires thought both candidates were excellent choices,and he wanted the public to provide
input.
Acting City Manager Norm Regis reported that he received a letter from the Federal
Aviation Administration(FAA)regarding the Seward airport stating that they would be granting the
city a hearing with the FAA and the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT).
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Lee Poleske was giving a talk tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the library about famous sled dogs.
Bruce Jaffa thought this was an interesting process,and both candidates were great and had
very different styles. He thought perhaps the questions were a little soft and polite; when the going
got tough, that's when you learned about a person.
Melody Jordan appreciated having the interviews held in public;her gut told her the second
candidate was stronger.
Carol Griswold was pleased this process was public. She thought both candidates were
good, but she perked up with the second candidate. Griswold thought Reinders had a lot of real life
practical experience that would be beneficial to Seward.
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 28, 2019 Volume 40, Page 666
Lynda Paquette concurred with all the public comments so far; the size of the staff in
Unalaska,Paquette thought,gave Reinders an advantage.Paquette requested that the contract for city
manager maintain a normal severance package, and disallow having a second job or business.
Bruce Jaffa said he thought Reinders would be a strong candidate.
Matt Chase said the governor wanted to take away all the fish tax; he thought Reinders
would be familiar with this issue. Chase wondered if this concern could be addressed at the public
meet and greet tonight.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS
Towsley thanked Lynda Paquette for filming today's meeting for Seward Civic Engagement.
Horn disliked the interview question which asked asking candidates for their strengths and
weaknesses.
Lane thanked Paquette for her input about the city manager contract.
Seese thanked everyone for their comments, and for attending the meeting.
Regis said Seward received approximately $422,035 each year in fish tax revenue; in
Unalaska, the fish tax was 28% of the budget.
Squires thought Seward's budget would not be heavily impacted by the removal of the fish
tax, but he was greatly concerned about the millions of dollars being proposed to be removed from
the school district.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 4:49 p.m.
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Brenda J. Ballo 1 MMC David Squires
City Clerk Mayor
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